The Big Storm
by ninewood
Summary: In 2004, James McAvoy and Steven Robertson starred in a movie called Rory O'Shea Was Here/Inside, I'm Dancing. This is the second of the missing stories from the movie.


The clouds were dark and heavy over the Carrigmore House for the Disabled as the sound of a wheelchair moved down the hallway and Michael looked around while he tried to find Rory. He carefully leaned forward as he looked in the shower room when he saw Rory sitting in front of the mirror and Michael moved the wheelchair closer, stopping the wheelchair next to Rory's wheelchair.

Rory wasn't happy as he sighed and blinked his eyes a few times. His bleached blonde hair was puffy and straight on his head as he glared at his reflection and a soft growling sound came from his throat. He didn't want to be at Carrigmore, but he also knew that no one was going to allow him to live on his own. He had dreamed of having his own flat since he was seventeen, but knew that Duchene's muscular dystrophy came with a death sentence and he was going to die. Sighing, Rory glanced to his left when he saw Michael sitting next to him and Michael wiggled a little in his wheelchair and titled his head to one side. Michael wasn't Rory's first choice of a friend, but he was the only person that Rory deemed worthy of his time. Also, given the fact that Rory could understand what Michael was saying due to Michael being afflicted with cerebral palsy, Michael would be lost without him.

"Are you trying to sneak up on me?" Rory teased with a grin.

"No, what are you doing in here?"

"I had a shower."

"Why?"

"I've got a doctor's appointment this morning."

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, it's just to update my profile," Rory said then sighed, rolling his eyes. "I hate all that poking and prodding."

"I hate when they have to take blood."

"Yeah, the thing is, I don't want to go out looking like this," Rory said as Michael looked at Rory's hair then at the jar of hair gel in the bag on the back of Rory's wheelchair and smiled.

"Want me to fix it?" Michael mumbled and Rory softly laughed, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah," Rory said while Michael reached into the bag and took the jar out, placing it on the sink. It took a few minutes for Michael to get the lid off the jar when he stuck his fingers into the hair gel then reached his hand toward Rory's head. "Do the back first."

"Ok," Michael mumbled as he started moving his fingers through Rory's hair when Annie walked into the room and her mouth fell open.

"What are you doing?" she demanded when Michael placed his hand down and she walked closer, standing next to Rory's wheelchair.

"What does it look like he's doing? He's fixing my hair. I'm not going out with it like this," Rory said and Annie sighed, shaking her head.

"We don't have time."

"Please?" Rory asked with a sad puppy look and Michael pressed his lips together, trying not to laugh. Sighing, Annie picked up the jar of hair gel when she spiked Rory's hair then washed her hands then Michael's hands and they left the room.

The dining hall was crowded while Rory and Michael came into the room and Rory looked at the tables. The tables were end to end in rows of two as the aides helped the other residents get settled and Rory gazed around the room, trying to find a place to sit. Michael pointed as they moved the wheelchairs toward the table and Rory looked out the window, seeing the sky growing darker and a flash of lighting caused him to blink his eyes a few times.

"Great, it's going to rain," Rory sighed while Michael looked at the dark sky and nodded his head. "So, what do you think we're having for breakfast?"

"The usual, I guess," Michael mumbled.

"Oh, nice, dry cereal, toast, a fruit cup and milk," Rory sighed and rolled his eyes. "Can't they once have real, fucking food for breakfast?"

"That is real food."

"Yeah, for a hospital patient," Rory grumbled then sighed, looking at him. "What, if you could, would you have for breakfast?"

"Um, I want scrambled eggs."

"Is that it?"

"No, I would also like toast with cherry jam, orange juice and milk."

"You can eat all that?" Rory asked and Michael nodded. "Me, I would like scrambled eggs, pancakes with maple syrup and butter, sausages and coffee."

"What's coffee?" Michael mumbled and Rory's eyes went wide.

"You never had coffee?" he asked and Michael shook his head. "Fuck. You know what? The last place I stayed at, they had a variety of stuff for breakfast unlike this slop."

Sighing, Michael looked at his hands when Annie brought over the plates and Rory looked at the cold cereal in the bowl, the fruit cup, the glass of milk and the plate of dry toast in front of him. Michael looked at the same food in front of him when he glanced at Rory and Annie poured the milk into the bowl then looked at Michael.

"Do you need some help?" she asked when Michael pushed the bowl of cereal away from him then the fruit cup and the plate with the dry toast on it. "What are you doing?"

"I don't want it," Michael mumbled and Rory smiled.

"What did you say?"

"He said he doesn't want it," Rory said.

"Michael, you have to eat," Annie said while moving the food back and Michael pushed the dishes away from him.

"No," Michael shouted.

"I don't want it either," Rory said.

"Don't you start," she said then looked at Michael and frowned. "Michael, please, you have to eat."

"No!" Michael shouted when he slammed his left hand down on the bowl of cereal and the bowl tilted over, causing the milk and cereal fly into his face then land into his lap and Rory snorted a laugh.

"Michael!" Annie shouted as Rory and Michael laughed and Michael tried to clean the mess off his lap. Annie went to get a towel then cleaned Michael off as Rory winked at him and Michael grinned. Annie placed another bowl of cereal in front of Michael then helped him eat as an aide helped Rory eat and Rory glanced at Michael. Michael didn't look at him as Rory felt guilty as he looked out the window and watched the clouds growing darker in the sky.

The clouds were darker while the rain fell and the wind moaned behind the glass. The wheelchair moved by the stairs while Rory pouted from the doctors poking and prodding every inch of him and felt his heart slamming against his ribs. The thunder rumbled outside as he flicked the switch with his right thumb when he stopped the wheelchair in front of Michael's room and Michael was sitting near the window, watching the rain falling outside the window.

"_Fuck," _Rory thought while feeling the guilt nibbling at his heart and knew that his wanting something better to eat that got Michael in trouble. Rory knew that he was self centered most of the time, but he never thought something he did would get Michael in trouble. _"Well, using the donation money to by drinks was my idea, but he didn't seem to mind."_

"You ok?" Rory asked while Michael turned the wheelchair around and looked at him.

"Yeah," Michael mumbled, nodding his head.

"Sorry that I got you in trouble."

"That's ok."

"Want to go do something?"

"Like what?" Michael mumbled while Rory looked around when he noticed the television and arched his eyebrows up.

"I didn't know you had a television."

"It was in the room when I arrived. Annie said that I could keep it."

"Well, turn it on!" Rory said as Michael moved the wheelchair to the television and turned the television on. They looked at the static picture as Rory frowned and Michael looked at him.

"I'm not in the mood for cartoons. What else is on?" Rory asked as Michael changed the channel and Rory blinked. "That's the news."

Michael changed the channel as they looked at the game show and Rory glanced at him.

"Do you have cable?"

"No," Michael mumbled then changed the channel to a soap opera and the couple on the screen was having sex. Michael's mouth fell open while Rory grinned and arched his eyebrows up.

"Whoa!" Rory said when Annie walked into the room then saw what they were looking at and her eyes went wide.

"Oh my!" she gasped then turned the television off and they gave her stunned looks.

"Why did you do that for?" Rory asked as Annie crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Michael.

"Michael, it's time for your therapy," she said as she and Michael left the room and Rory followed them. He growled then went the other way when he nearly crashed into Erin and she placed her hands on the arms of the wheelchair, looking at him.

"And where are you going?" Erin asked. She was one of the night nurses and Rory liked her because she wasn't like the other old bitches at Carrigmore.

"Sorry, Erin, I'm just in a bad mood," Rory sighed as Erin stood up and titled her head to one side.

"What's the matter?"

"I had a doctor's appointment to update my files," he said and she nodded her head. "What are you doing here?"

"Someone called off and I was called in."

"You're doing a double shift, eh?"

"Yeah, but I need the money, so I don't mind."

"Fuck, anyway, I got Michael into trouble this morning."

"What happened?"

"We were talking about the slop they serve here and I asked him what he wanted for breakfast then I told him what I wanted then…"

"What did you want?"

"He wanted scrambled eggs, sausages, toast, cherry jelly, orange juice and milk. I wanted scrambled eggs, pancakes with maple syrup, sausages and coffee. Annie wanted us to eat, but Michael didn't want to. He hit the bowl of cereal in front of him, sending it skyward," Rory said and Erin smiled, trying not to laugh. "It wasn't that funny."

"Sorry," Erin said as he sighed and she brushed some hair out of his eyes.

"And the worst bit was Annie forgot to put my nose ring," Rory said and her eyes went slightly wide.

"I didn't know you wore one," she said and he gave her his bad boy grin.

"I had one for the last few years."

"This I have to see," she said as they went down the hallway and Rory smiled, flicking the switch with his right thumb.

The sky was nearly black as the thunder rumbled outside the window and the glass slightly shivered. The residents seemed shaken as Rory and Michael came into the dining hall and headed for the table. Erin walked to the table with two bowls of soup, two fish sandwiches and two glasses of juice and Rory pouted, glancing up at her.

"Wonderful," he sighed as Erin rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"Just eat," she whispered when Michael gently tapped her arm and she looked at him.

"What are you doing here?" he mumbled and Erin looked at Rory. She couldn't understand most of what Michael said and Rory smiled, rolling his eyes.

"He wants to know what you're doing here," Rory said.

"Oh, I'm doing a double shift," she said and Michael nodded then started eating.

"Just once I would like pizza with pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms and green peppers for lunch," Rory sighed and she smiled at him.

"Don't you start," she whispered and he softly laughed. They finished lunch as the rain fell harder outside the window and the lights in the dining hall flickered on and off.

"Uh-oh," Michael mumbled as they watched the aides calm down the residents that were becoming scared and the thunder rumbled in the room.

"That doesn't sound good," Erin said and Michael nodded. "Are you guys done?"

"Yeah," Rory said and Michael nodded his head. Erin cleared the dishes and glasses while Rory backed the wheelchair up and headed for the door. Michael followed him out of the room as the lights flickered on and off when they stopped and heard the loud crash of thunder. "Fuck that was loud."

"Yeah," Michael sighed as they headed down the hallway and went into the main room. Several of the residents were watching the static picture on the screen as Michael moved the wheelchair toward the bookcase and Rory followed him, stopping the wheelchair next to Michael's wheelchair.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked while Michael looked at the books and took one of the books off the shelf. "Are you really going to read that?"

"Yeah," Michael said with a nod of his head.

"But that's a kid's book."

"So? I like it. My mother used to read it to me when I was little," Michael said then a look of sadness came to his eyes and he blinked, looking down at his lap. Rory watched while Michael move the wheelchair toward one of the lamps then opened the book and started reading. Sighing, Rory moved the wheelchair toward Michael then stopped the wheelchair and glanced over at the book. "What?"

"Um, mind reading it to me?" Rory asked as Michael smiled and nodded. Erin was watching from the doorway while Rory encouraged Michael to sound out a word he couldn't pronounce as she smiled then walked away and headed down the hallway.

The sky was black as the lightning flared outside the windows and the rain coated the windows. The thunder roared while the aides went about calming down the residents who were getting upset and the lights flickered on and off around them. Erin walked into the main room when she walked to Michael's wheelchair when she tapped his shoulder and he turned his head, looking at her.

"Dinner's ready," she said as he frowned and looked at the book.

"We're not done," he mumbled and Erin looked at Rory.

"He said we're not done," Rory said and Michael nodded.

"Well, just fold the page down and you can finish reading after tea," she said while Michael folded the page in half, closed the book and placed the book on his lap. The thunder roared outside the windows as they left the main room and headed down the hallway. The lights flickered on and off when they came to the dining hall and Rory sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Is it going to do that all night?" Rory asked when he stopped the wheelchair at the table and the lightning flashed outside the windows.

"Look like," Erin said while the lightning flashed in his eyes and the thunder roared, making the glass shiver and some of the residents started crying. The aides went to calm the residents down when Annie came closer and placed the plates in front of Rory and Michael. They looked at the skinless, baked chicken breasts cut into pieces, plain mashed potatoes and spinach and Annie placed the glass of juice on the table while Rory sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Need any help, Michael?" Erin asked and he shook his head. Erin started feeding Rory when he sighed and glanced at her with anger in his eyes.

"Haven't they heard of seasoning?" he whispered and Erin smiled, hushing him. Erin fed Rory when something warm and soft hit Rory's left ear and Erin gasped, reaching for the napkin. Mashed potatoes oozed down Rory's face and neck as Erin tried to clean the mashed potatoes off of him and the young woman sitting in the wheelchair to his left giggled.

"Cathy! No, don't throw food at Rory!" Erin said as she finished cleaning Rory off and Rory leered at Cathy. Erin started feeding Rory when Cathy flung mashed potatoes at Rory as the mashed potatoes landed in his hair and Rory sighed, looking up at the ceiling. Erin cleaned Rory off as he looked out the window while the storm echoed his mood and Erin started feeding him again. Rory saw that Cathy was reaching for the mashed potatoes when he turned the wheelchair toward her and growled.

"Do that again and I will shove that bloody fork so far up your arse that they'll need a miner's hat to find it!" Rory shouted as Cathy dropped the mashed potatoes onto the plate and her lower lip quivered. Cathy started crying when Annie walked to her then tried to calm her down and Cathy held onto her.

"What is going on here?" Annie demanded.

"Rory yell at me," Cathy sobbed and Annie glared at him.

"Why did you do that?"

"She's tossing mash at me!" Rory said and Michael nodded his head.

"Well, she doesn't know what she's doing."

"Oh yes she does!"

"She did it on purpose," Michael mumbled as Cathy calmed down and Annie glared at Rory.

"Tell her you're sorry," Annie said and Rory's eyes went wide.

"But…." Rory said then sighed and rolled his eyes. "Right, sorry, Cathy."

Cathy sniffed as Annie helped her eat when Erin shrugged her shoulders then started feeding Rory and the thunder crashed outside the windows.

The lightning flared in a white light as the thunder shook the windows while the rain slammed against the glass and the wind screeched through the cracks in the windows. The lights flickered on and off as the aides moved from one room to the other to calm down the residents that were getting upset and Rory noticed that Michael was getting upset.

"Are you ok?" Rory asked.

"No," Michael sighed then looked at the book when Rory got an idea and flicked the switch with his right thumb. "Where are you going?"

"Come with me," Rory said as they left the main room then went down the hallway then stopped in front of the nurses' desk. Erin looked at them as she smiled then closed the file and walked around to the other side of the desk.

"What are you guys doing here?" Erin said as the thunder roared and she saw that Michael was scared. "Michael, are you ok?"

"No," Michael mumbled while shaking his head.

"Erin, do you know where we can get four cotton balls?" Rory asked.

"I think there are some in the first aid kit," Erin said as she walked back around to the other side of the desk, went into the back room and turned the light on. Turning the light off, she walked to them while Rory smiled and glanced over at Michael.

"Ok, put two cotton balls in Michael's ears then put the other two in my ears," Rory said as Michael looked at him then smiled as he figured out what Rory was up to. Shrugging her shoulders, Erin placed the cotton balls in Michael's ears as the lights flickered on and off then went out and Erin quickly moved to Rory, placing the cotton balls in his ears. The thunder exploded as the residents screamed and Erin covered her ears. The lights from the torches filled the darkness as the aides moved by them and Erin shook her fingers in her ears, trying to pop them. Annie headed toward them as Erin removed the cotton balls from Michael and Rory's ears and Annie stopped next to Michael's wheelchair. "What happened?"

"A bolt of lightning hit the front yard and turned the power off. That, and thunder blew out most of the glass from the windows. We're checking for other damage, so I suggest that you take Michael and Rory to their rooms and put them to bed."

"Yeah, and how exactly is she supposed to put me to bed without a lift chair?" Rory asked, arching an eyebrow.

"That's where I come in," a voice with a Scottish accent said as Rory turned the wheelchair around and looked at the intern standing near the nurses' desk. He was hold a torch in his right hand as he shined the light up so they could see him and Rory frowned. If he could stand, Rory and the intern would be the same height and build and the intern had dark brown hair and dazzling blue eyes.

"_This guy is an intern? He looks like a fucking kid," _Rory thought and the intern smiled at them.

"Right, James, help Erin take them to their room then go see who else needs help," Annie said as James nodded and they headed down the hallway and the thunder roared loudly from the other rooms.

The lightning flared as the thunder crashed around them and the torchlight led the way. James opened the door to Michael's room while Erin and Michael went into Michael's room and headed for the bed. She helped Michael get into his pajamas when she helped Michael into bed and smiled at him.

"But I don't want to go to bed," Michael mumbled.

"What did he say?" Erin asked, looking back at Rory.

"He said that he doesn't want to go to bed," Rory said and she looked at Michael, brushing his fringe out of his eyes.

"What do you want to do?"

"I want to finish my book," Michael mumbled.

"He wants to finish his book," Rory said and Erin smiled, rolling her eyes.

"Can you read in the dark?" she teased and Michael shyly smiled, shaking his head. "Then will you try to go to sleep?"

"Ok," Michael said while nodding his head and closed his eyes. Erin moved the blankets up then left the room and James followed her as they went into Rory's room. Rory stopped the wheelchair by the bed when he turned the wheelchair around and looked at them between the lightning flashes.

"So, how are you going to get me into bed? The lift chair isn't working," Rory said and James smiled, brushing his fringe from his eyes.

"That's where I come in," James said, walking closer and Rory looked at him with doubt in his eyes.

"You think you can lift me?"

"I'm stronger than I look. Besides, you don't look that heavy."

"Cheeky arsehole," Rory said and James laughed.

"Right, let's get you into bed," Erin said as she got Rory ready for bed then James carefully lifted Rory up then placed him on the bed. Erin moved the blankets and duvet up as she slid his arm out and placed the call box in his hand. Rory gave her a look as she shrugged then patted the top of Rory's head and he smiled, rolling his eyes. "Right, now go to sleep."

"What is that noise?" Rory asked while a low dripping sound filled the darkness and James shined the light around the room then walked to the window. A large crack went diagonally across the glass while water dripped onto the windowsill and he carefully moved some of Rory's things out of the way so they wouldn't be damaged by the rain.

"The window's busted," James said while Erin walked toward him and looked at the window.

"Great," she sighed while James walked toward the door then turned, looking at them.

"I'll go tell Annie," James said then left the room and Erin walked to the bed, looking down at Rory.

"Am I going to have to listen to that dripping all night?" Rory asked.

"I don't know," she said and a few minutes later James came back into the room with a metal pan in his hands and headed for the window.

"Annie said to use this," James said and Rory sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Great, I'm going to go off my fucking nut listening to that all night," Rory sighed as Erin smiled and James softly laughed.

"Isn't there somewhere else he can sleep?" James asked when Erin got an idea and smiled down at Rory.

"I've got an idea," she said as they looked at her and the thunder rumbled outside the window.

The sunlight shimmered off the glass as the clouds moved by and the burned grass smoldered from where the lightning hit. The door to the nurses' room opened while Erin walked toward the bed when she looked at Rory sleeping under the duvet then softly stroked his hair. She had brought some clothes and his boots with her as she placed everything on the chair when Rory sighed and slowly opened his eyes.

"Morning, Sleepy Head," Erin said softly as he smiled and she smiled back. "Did you sleep alright?"

"Yeah, what are you still doing here?" he asked.

"I'm going home in a bit. Are you ready to get up?"

"Yeah, is Michael awake?"

"No, I wanted to get you sorted first," she said when James came into the room and they got Rory out of bed and into his wheelchair. They went down the hallway when they came to Michael's room and Erin walked inside, heading for the bed. She gently shook Michael's shoulder when he opened his eyes and she smiled at him, stroking his hair. "Hey, Sleepyhead, ready to get up?"

"Yes," Michael mumbled as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and she helped him sit up. A few minutes later Erin had Michael dressed and his wheelchair and Rory came into the room, stopping the wheelchair near the bed.

"Do we have power?" Rory asked as she turned to look at him and sighed.

"No, we have no power, they turned the gas and water off, nearly all the windows are cracked or had been blown out and most of the residents have soiled the sheets. We do have phone service though," Erin sighed and Rory glanced over at Michael.

"So how are they going to feed us if there's no power or gas for the stoves?"

"We're getting food from one of the local restaurants."

"Yes, at last, real food!" Rory said as Michael laughed and Erin sighed, rolling her eyes. Someone knocked on the door when James walked in the room with two white paper bags in his hands and smiled at them.

"Breakfast, anyone?" he said as he placed the white paper bags on Michael's bed as Erin walked to the bed and opened the white paper bags, taking out two Styrofoam boxes and cups. James left the room as she looked at the labels on the Styrofoam boxes and cups and smiled.

"Ok, who wanted coffee?" she asked and Rory's eyes went wide.

"I did!" Rory said when Erin placed the straw into the cup then walked to Rory's wheelchair and lifted the lid, allowing him to take a sniff. "Ah, yes, that's the stuff!"

Erin placed the lid back on the cup when she placed the straw in his mouth and he sipped on the coffee then made a face.

"Oh, crap, that's decaf."

"Yep, because caffeine isn't good for you," she said then placed the cup on the floor and walked back to the bed, picking up one of the Styrofoam boxes and headed for Rory's wheelchair. "So, what did you want for breakfast?"

"I wanted scrambled eggs, pancakes with maple syrup and sausages," he said as she opened the lid of the Styrofoam box and Rory smiled, looking at the food. Erin picked up the other Styrofoam box and cup when she walked to Michael and placed the Styrofoam box on his lap.

"You wanted scrambled eggs, sausages, toast with cherry jelly, orange juice and milk, right?" she asked and Michael looked at the Styrofoam box. "They didn't have cherry jelly. Is grape jelly ok?"

"Yes," Michael said with a nod of his head and she opened the lid of the Styrofoam box. Michael's eyes went wide as he smiled and she patted his head then placed the straw in the cup.

"How come we're eating in here and not in the dining hall?" Rory asked while she walked to his wheelchair then started feeding him and Michael used his fingers to pick up the sausage then placed it in his mouth.

"Michael, use the fork," she said as Michael nodded then she looked at Rory, wiping his mouth. "No one is eating in the dining hall."

"Oh, I thought you just wanted to spoil us," Rory said as they laughed and Erin rolled her eyes, placing a fork full of scrambled eggs in his mouth.


End file.
